Sonnets of the Cross
London: Society of SS. Peter & Paul, 1923. First edition. Stapled in original stiff black paper wrappers (5 inches tall) printed in white. Fine. Item #1705
"IT IS MY FEELING THAT THESE SONNETS BELONG TO ENGLAND AND THE ENGLISH CHURCH"
First British edition of these 26 sonnets, by the American poet, Thomas S. Jones, Jr., honoring the early Saints of the English Church. Printed for the Society of SS. Peter and Paul and published as Canterbury Books: 37. This copy was inscribed by the author for Christmas in the year of publication: "With every good wish from Thomas S. Jones, Jr. / At Christmas 1922."
A minor poet of the Catholic Literary Revival, the author's visions of the Celtic, Saxon, and Norman saints of medieval England evoke green woods in the misty dawn and rugged seacoasts in starlight: "The murmuring tide foams slowly up the sands, / Behind a veil of gold lost Ireland lies, / And with the sunset in his yearning eyes / Alone on Colum-kill Columba stands." A contemporary reviewer observed: "one has the feeling of drawing deeper and deeper into some still place as if one entered into a Sanctuary. It is quiet, altogether mystical, as if evoked for us by one who had found the serene beauty at the heart of Life."
Decorated with an architectural title page (likely by W.M.R. Quick), this edition includes the author's brief prefatory Note: "If through these poems I can turn any souls to those noble names—Joseph, Ninian, Patrick, Briget, Columba, Oswald—their purpose is more than fulfilled" (signed, "A.M.D.G"). First printed in America by the Mosher Press in June 1922, these poems struck a chord with readers and Jones added seven additional sonnets to an enlarged second edition (1924). A third British edition (also published by the SSPP) appeared in 1926, followed by a second American edition in 1927. Printed at the Mayflower Press, the final leaf lists the previous titles in the Canterbury Books series.
Price: $50.00